Last weekend, I was struck with a case of extreme boredom. So I did what any normal girl does: snuck into my roommate’s rooms and searched for something entertaining. What I found was the box set of The Hunger Games novels. My roomie Beth had been raving about these books for weeks so, even though I was skeptical, I picked up the first book and started reading. Four hours later, I turned the final page. Since then, I have been so engrossed in these books that I’m almost scaring myself; I’m not usually one to jump on the bandwagon, but in this case, slap some pom-poms in my hand because I’ve officially become a fan.
Initially, I had dismissed The Hunger Games as another “Twilight-wannabe” that would soon become the overhyped obsession of every 13-year-old girl on the planet (disclaimer: I have never read Twilight, but I saw the first movie and it was so awful it made me want to claw my eyes out. Team Edward or Team Jacob? How about Team She-Doesn’t-Deserve-Either-One-Because-She-Is-So-Obnoxiously-Bland-And-Boring.) Besides, action/adventure books aren’t really my cup of tea, so I had cast off the series without a second thought.
But once I started reading The Hunger Games, I realized that even though it is geared toward young adults, it is actually very mature. The plot (about a competition in which young men and women fight until the death) is not the stuff of child’s play; it can be frightening and even gory. Think Lord of the Flies with a hint of sci-fi. Sure, it does have a love story in which the girl is torn between two handsome guys who are both vying for her (does this stuff really happen in real life, or just not to me?), but it also deals with more mature themes such as loss, sacrifice and survival.
One of the reasons this series is being talked about so much is because (all too predictably) it is being made into a movie. A grand, Blockbuster, multi-million dollar movie- would you expect anything less? Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence plays the heroine, and her leading men are Miley Cyrus’ arm candy, Liam Hemsworth, and all-grown-up cutie Josh Hutcherson. The rest of the cast includes a host of respectable actors like Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci and Lenny Kravitz (yeah, you read that right).
I’m an avid believer in reading the book before seeing the movie, and I suggest you do the same, meaning you have until March 23 to read at least the first in the three-book series. But, if you’ve taken what I’ve said to heart, you’ll start today and be done by the weekend. It’s a quick read, partially because the font is larger, but also because once you start reading it someone will have to pry it from your hands for you to stop. So put down the chem. textbook and get reading, collegiettes™!
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